Pinion device operating mechanism.



D. C. BOYD.

PINION DEVICE OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED on. 3. 1913.

1,147,366. Patented July 20, 1915.

Dawn: c. BOYD. q vi lmeooeo COLUMBIA PLANOHRAPH CO WASHINUTONfD. c.

UNITED sTA Es r "'1 DAVID C. BOYD, or GALION, OHIO, ssIGNoR To, THE GALION IRON WORKS AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or GALION, OHIO, A ORPORATIO OF OHIO.

' PINION DEVICE OPERATING MEoHANIsM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 3, 1913. Serial No. 793,147.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID C. BOYD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gallon, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PinionDevice Operating Mechanism, of which the following is 'a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in road machines of that type which embody a wheel-supported frame work, vertically adjustable and rearwardly diverging draw bars suspended by the frame-work,a revolubly adjustable blade support or circle, as it is called, carried by the draw bars and a reversiblescraping blade carried by said circle and means car-' ried by the frame-work and connected to the respective draw bars at the rear ends of the latter, whereby said ends may be elevated or, lowered to the required point, one independently of the other, as required by the work in hand.

To those versed in the art to which this invention appertains, it is well known that y it has been heretofore customary to raise and lower the rear ends of the draw bars by means of vertically disposed rack bars "held for a vertically sliding movement in guiding and supporting brackets, said rack bars having link rod connections with the rear ends of the draw bars and being raised or lowered bymeans of spur pinions meshing with the teeth of the rack bars, said pinions being secured to the ends of shafts jour naled in said guiding supports or brackets and being provided at their inner ends with relatively large hand wheels designed to be grasped by the attendant or operator on the platform of the machine to turn said shafts in the required direction to raise or lower the racks, said hand wheels being usually engaged by spring-actuated brake blocks or shoes supported on the frame-work platform and provided with treadles, whereby they may be released by the feet of the operator to permit the hand wheels to be turned. Vhile this specific arrangement of parts for raising and lowering the rear ends of the draw bars has its distinct advantages in that through the instrumentality of the meshing racks and spur pinions, a direct upward pull or lift is imparted to the weight carried thereby, yet there are incidental and decided disadvantages, owing to the fact that these brakes, just mentioned,

are rendered necessary, as the same are not only unreliable and have a tendency to easily get out of order and thereby permit the, rear ends of the draw bars to drop, but. they manifestly require especial attention on the part of the operator and are thus found inconvenient and unsatisfactory. With a knowledge of these conditions, my invention aims primarily to improve this part or feature of reversible road machines, whereby not only am I able to do away entirely with the use ,of brakes, but at l the same time, combine with the. advantageous features of a direct upward pull attained by a rack bar and spur pinion connection, the added important and advantageous feature of worm and worm gear operative connections com bined with the rack and spur pinion gears, so that while I secure the characteristics incidental. to worm and worm gearconnections which will hold the vertically movable rack bars at any elevation at which they are set and thus do away with brakes and at the same time secure the direct upward pull above mentioned, I reduce lost motion to a minimum, which lost motion can only be reduced in machines as atpresent conso far as this feature thereof is concerned, so as to render them" more useful and com mercially desirable. W ith these and other objects in View, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds,the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the'invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanyingdrawing, in which t Figure l is a side elevation of aportion of a road machine,embodying the improve ments of my invention, only so muchthereof being shown as to render clear the construction and arrangement of parts in connection with the following description, some parts being omitted and other parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a view at right angles to Fig. 1, with parts in section, and Fig. 3 is a view in the nature of a. diagram,which willbe entirely clear to those familiar with to generally improve machines of thisi'class,

this type of machine, and which is intended merely to illustrate the approximate position of my invention in relation to the other parts of the machine.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followlng description and designated in the different views of the accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates one of the side sills of the wheelsupported framework of a road machine of the character hereinbefore generally described, and 2 designates brackets which are secured to the side sills l'by any desired means in the relative position illus trated in Fig. 3. The brackets 2 extend in the usual manner above and'below the side sills 1 of the frame-work, it being. understood that there are two of these disposed in transverse relation to each other on opposite sides of the framework, but as they are both alike, a description of one will suflice. The vertically disposed bracket 2 is formed with upper and lower guide flanges 3 which serve to engage and support a vertically disposed rack bar t for a vertically sliding movement therein, said rack bar being formed with the usual strengthening web or rib 5 and having rack teeth 6, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 and indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. These teeth face laterally of the machine, as will be clearly understood by reference to the drawing, and mesh with a relatively large I spur gear wheel 7 secured to a shaft 8 and mounted in a housing 9 which preferably forms an integral part of the bracket 2. A worm gear 10 is also secured to the transversely extending shaft 8 in addition to the spur gear or pinion 7 which meshes with the rack teeth 6, and said worm gear is in meshing engagement with a worm 11 fixed upon a shaft 12 which extends at right angles to the shaft 8. 0n the inner end of the shaft 12, a hand wheel 13 is secured.

An eye 14 is cast on or secured in any desired way to the rack bar 4-, preferably about midway of its length and disposed in a plane parallel to the transverse plane of the rack teeth 6, said eye being designed for connection to the upper end of the link rod 15 which is, in turn, connected by a stirrup or other equivalent device at its lower end to the rear end of one of the draw bars 16 (see Fig. 3).

draw bar will be apparent.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the operation of my improved means for raising and lowering the rear end of a In the practical use of the device, it is only necessary for the attendant to turn the hand wheel 13 in the required direction, whereupon the meshing engagement of the worm 11 and worm gear 10 and the motion transmitted through the shaft 8 to the meshing pinion 7 and rack teeth 6, will raise or lower the rack bar, as desired, and without any appreciable lost motion whatever, a direct upward pull being imparted to the draw bar 16 and the rack bar remaining firmly at any elevation to which it is put, without the necessity of using brakes of any character whatever.

While the accompanying drawing illustrates what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claim.

llhat I claim is In a machine of the character described, 0

the combination with a horizontally extending supporting member, of a bracket at tached to the supporting member extending upward therefrom and having guides formed thereon and laterally displaced from the body of the bracket, a vertically disposed rack slidingly supported in said guides, a link pivotally connected to the rack, a housing mounted upon the bracket, a shaft mounted upon the bracket disposed within said housing and extending parallel to the supporting member, a pinion mounted upon the shaft and partially inclosed within the housing and having its teeth engaging the teeth of the rack, a worm gear wheel also mounted upon the shaft and inclosed within the housing, a worm shaft mounted in the upper portion of the housing, a worm thereon engaging the worm gear wheel, and an operating device exterior to the housing and attached to said worm shaft.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID C. BOYD. Witnesses GARDA HOLMES, Fnnnnnrcx W. BIEHL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

